Dental bleaching is an increasingly popular treatment and dentists are constantly searching for techniques that are both convenient and comfortable for their patients. Numerous methods and tools have been developed for the purpose of dental bleaching. Typically, a composition containing hydrogen peroxide is applied to the teeth and allowed to remain in contact with the surface to be bleached. Unfortunately, home treatments usually involve long treatment protocols due to the low strength compositions available for home use. For example, a typical treatment regimen may require twice daily 15-30 minute applications of a hydrogen peroxide, or 1-2 hour daily applications of carbamide peroxide, over a period of several weeks.
Alternatively, patients are treated in a dentist's office for more intensive treatment using concentrated bleaching compositions. Disadvantages of these treatments include the inconvenience of remaining in the dental office, often with uncomfortable clamps, dams and retractors affixed to the mouth to keep it in the proper position. Not surprisingly, much effort has been expended in the search for methods of increasing the comfort, convenience and speed of the bleaching process. Various methods and devices have been developed to this end, broadly including those that expose a whitening composition to heat, light or a combination of these. However, such methods and devices require that a user remain in one place with the mouth open, or attached to a heater or light source that extends from the mouth. Thus, there exists a need for methods and apparatus for bleaching teeth that accelerate treatment, allow the patient to move freely during treatment, and avoid the inconvenience of having any part of the treatment apparatus protruding from the mouth.